Shares of Disney fell Tuesday after its latest “Star Wars” movie failed to bring the crowds and revenue analysts had expected for Memorial Day weekend.

The stock fell more about 1 percent and are now down 6 percent for 2018.

The Disney-produced “Solo: A Star Wars Story” delivered a franchise-low $83.3 million in North American ticket sales over the three-day weekend. Over four days, the movie brought in $101 million. This was about $40 million light of revenue expectations, according to FBR Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett.

“All else equal, this suggests the Star Wars movie is pacing close to breakeven, a 2% headwind for our Disney estimates,” Crockett said in a note to clients Tuesday.

Last week, revenue forecasts had been as high as $150 million for the four-day debut of “Solo.”

The movie marked the lowest opening for a Disney-produced film in the Star Wars franchise. Until then, “Rogue One” had been Disney’s lowest-grossing Star Wars film, bringing in $155 million in its 2016 debut. “The Last Jedi” brought in $220 million, while “The Force Awakens” brought in $248 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

The company paid $4 billion in 2012 to buy the franchise from Star Wars creator LucasFilm.

The recent box office weakness could be mitigated by an advertising lift from the upcoming seven-game NBA conference finals and strength in Disney’s Marvel movies franchise, FBR’s Crockett said.

Source: Investment Cnbc
Disney shares dip after franchise-low debut for 'Star Wars' prequel